Method of making cutting dies



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19055 E TH. BY 7 Feb. 23, 1965 R. H. DowNlE METHUD OF MAKING' CUTTING DIES Fild Aug. 13, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 A ORA/EY Feb. 23, 1965 A R. H. DowNu-z METHOD OF' MAKING CUTTING DIES 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 13, 1962 INVENTOR.

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RQx-Lpo NIE 3,170,342 METHOD OF MAKING CUTTING DIES Feb. Z3, 1965 Y MWNN .NN//wV// MNM y Martien oFMAKiNocUrrnIG inns Robert H. Downe, Neenah,`Wis., assigner. tc'` American Can Company, New York, NX., a corporation of New Jersey Enea Aug. 13, 1962, ser. No. 216,452

- 1'0 claims. roma- 1an This invention relates to a new and improved method for the formation and use of cutting, scoring and embossing dies which are of particular value in the formation of paperboard carton blanks. This application is a continuation-impart of application Serial No. 96,872, tiled March 20, 1961, now abandoned.

For many years, the cutting and scoring dies commonly used for the formation of carton blanks from paperboard have consisted of a series of individual cutting and scoring rules or knives, hand-formed to predetermined contours andV held in frictional engagement between individually hand cut wooden blocks commonly referred to as furniture, the rules extending above the upper surface of the blocks so that they will cut or crease a piece of paperboard superimposed on their exposed edges and subjected to downwardly exerted pressure. In common commercial practice, the wooden furniture blocks are 3A in.-in thickness and the `knives range from .900 to 1.000 in. in height, so that the knives extend above the 'block surface by .150 to .250 inch.- In preparing the die for operation in a press designed to stamp out carton blanks, the assembly of'knives, rules and wooden blocks is 'locked in position on the press bed plate and theopposing press member,

which may be a backup plate or cylinder, bearing a covering of a hard, heavy, counter paper, is brought into contact with the cutting and scoring die, thereby making on the counter paper an impression of the cutting and scoring 'rules in their proper spaced relationship. The counter paper is then manually cut away in the areas where the cuttingV and creasing rules registered an impression, thereby forming, in effect, a female counterpart of the male 40 which the individual rules and knives are prepared and bent and the individual wooden` furniture blocks are cut and fitted to form the ,male die, and the care with which the counter paper is manuallygrooved to co-act with the knives and rules of the male die. Since each piece of each die is individually and manually'constructed, exact reproducibility betweenfany two dies would be'rare, indeed. The multitude ofseparate pieces, held together frictionally in a frame, are subject to" various distortional stresses` on the press and frequently become misaligned, resulting in unsatisfactory cutting and scoringV of the paperboard stock and, on occasion, the entire die pops fromY the restraining frameand separates into its individual cornvponerit parts, necessitating laborious re-assembly and press make-ready. p l

In the present invention, the assembly of individual blocks and rules constituting the male cutting and creasing die is replaced by a one-piece metallic plate bearing in extremely shallow relief onfits upper surface a photographically registered'representation of the male scoring and cutting elements, the main surface of the plate having been chemically etched away so that the scoring'a'nd cut- FCC `ting elements standin-,slight relief. Awcomplementa'ry -one-piece metallic female die lis-also provided which bears cutting elements and` scoring elements which co-act with lthose dof the male die to form the scores and cut-lines of the finished carton blank. These elements are also photocomposed and in very shallow relief to the` chemically etched background'surface of the metallic plate in much the same manner as previously mentioned regarding the male counterpart. Due to the extremely shallow relief, which may range from 0.005 in.to about 0.035 inch, the

corking procedure'V necessary with conventional dies is completely eliminated and the paperboard stock is gripped and maintained pianar'during the cutting and scoring operations. The die elements ofthe present invention are adaptable for use on carton blank forming presses of theflat bed type, ando'n those having a flat bed with a rotating counter member as well as on presses in which both operating members rotate, as will be explained more fully hereinafter.

The principles of the present invention may be best understood from the following specification and accompanying drawings, in which: p i

FIGURE l is a plan view of a photographic positive to be used in the preparation of the male die plate according tothis invention,

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of a photographicipositive to be used inthe preparation of the complementary female die plate, n

FIGURE 3 is a plan View of a photo-composed line grid which is one step in the preparation of the positive -efFIGUnn 1, d lj s FIGURE 4 represents a further step in the preparation of the positive of FIGURE l,

FIGURE 5a and FIGURE v5b are enlarged perspective views of concomitant areas of finished male and female die plates, respectively, showing the Aintegral lraised cutting and scoring elements in veryshallow relief above the 1 etched plate background,

. FIGURE 6Vis a perspective view showing the transfer of one of the die plates from registered position overlying the complementary dieiplate into operativeposition on thedpress back-up cylinder as a part of the press makerea Y,

FIGURE 7 is an exploded perspective view, showing the pair of die plates of FIGURES 5a and 5b,y partially cut away, arranged for operation upon a sheet 4Vof 'paper- 'y board placed therebetween, and showing the4 resulting cutting. and scoring of the paperboard, l

FIGURE 8 is a 'greatly magniiiedcross-section view of a portion of male and female die platesy in register, showing both a maleand afemalev scoring element, and a concomitant pair of cutting members, y

FIGURE 9 is anenlarged cross-sectional view of a male and female scoring die of the present invention utilized in conjunction with conventional cutting dies, Y

FIGURE 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional View of a n further modification of this invention, and

FIGURE l1 is an enlarged cross-sectional viewof a combined cutting,rscoringA and embossing die prepared according to the present invention.

' My new and improved cutting and creasingdies are prea cutting and scoring die will be herein designated as the male and female plates, respectively. The plates bearing the resist coating inthe areas corresponding tothe cutting and scoring elements` ofthe dies may .beV prepared in a number of Ways. For example, a'master planview drawing of the cutting and-scoring elements for the male'and scoring elements.

The die plates may be made of any of a variety of etchable metals such as magnesium, copper, steel, bronze and the like, the choice of the particular metal to be utilized in a given case being determined by the relative importance of various factors such as durability, rapidity and ease of etching, flexibility, economy and other similar factors. The etching medium used will depend on the particular metal which is to be etched, satisfactory etchants for each of the metals listed sa well as for other etchable metals being well known in the art. In general, magnesium is most often etched in an etchant bath composition based primarily on nitric acid while copper, steel and bronze are customarily etched with ferrie chloride etchant compositions, although ammonium persulfate and other oxidizing etchants may also be used.

Similarly, the die plates may be of a photopolymerizable plastic composition such as photosensitized nylon or a photopolymerizable composition of a divinyl ester of polyethylene glycol or the like. VThe utilization of photopolymerizable plastic materials for the preparation of the die plates of my invention involves certain modifications of the basic process as applied to metals, such modifications being obvious to those skilled in the art.

My preferred method for preparing the new and improved cutting and scoring dies includes the formation of a photographic positive of the cut line and score line elements of the male die plate in predetermined spaced relationship to one another as shown in FIGURE 1 and in such manner that the phot-ographic representation of each score line is of the exact width desired for the finished male scoring element. A corresponding photographic positive of the female die elements as shown in FIGURE 2 is similarly prepared These photocomposed positives are preferably prepared on a dimensionally stable transparent base such as glass which is coated with a photographic emulsion and the positive imagesare later transferred to the metal die plates as will be later described.

In order to prepare the above positives, the photosensitive glass plate is exposed to a light slit of a width exactly corresponding to the desired scoring element width along a line corresponding to one of the score lines, for example, scoreline 42 in FIGURE 3, in the desired carton blank and, starting with this line, the light slit is then successively photomechanically stepped into each of the positions corresponding to the other carton score lines 43-47 inclusive, which are parallel to the first chosen score line. This procedure and the succeeding photomechanical steps may be carried out conveniently on a conventional photocomposing machine such as that built and sold by the Rutherford Machinery Division, Sun Chemical Corporation, New York. Similarly, a light-slit photo image is produced corresponding to each of the straight cut lines 51-56, inclusive, parallel to the previously mentioned score lines in their proper spaced relationship. The glass plate is rotated 90 and the procedure repeated to obtain photo-images of the lightslit corresponding to the score lines 61 and 62 and cut lines 71, 72, 75 and 76, which run perpendicular to the first set of cuts and scores.

Undesired portions of various of the lines in the resulting photo-image grid are mechanically or chemically removed by well known techniques resulting in the partial line grid of FIGURE 4, and images of the curved cut line elements 82, 84, 85 and 86, FIGURE 1, of the various carton locks, curved scores, angled scores and cut lines 73, 74, 81, 83, l91, 92, 93 and 94 and the like photomechanically stepped into their proper positions in the overall die layout. These images may conveniently be prepared by forming a photographic negative of a handdrawn curved or angled line of proper shape and line width or by well-known scribing techniques. The resulting positive image is shown in FIGURE 1.

It should be noted that the light slit photo-images representative of the scoring rules are centered precisely on the desired score line positions in the final carton blank, while the cut line photo-images are so placed that one edge of the line image is immediately adjacent to the actual desired line of cut and may even overlie the line of cut by a few thousandths of an inch. Furthermore, although the width of the light slit is critical in the formation of the scoreline photo-image, it is not critical in formng the corresponding image of the cut line die element, which may be of any convenient width consistent with the limitations of available space and the requirements of adequate strength of the final cutting element to resist distortion and deformation.

The photographic positive of the female die plate elements shown in FIGURE 2 is prepared in a manner similar to that described for the male die positive, with certain distinctions dependent on the character of the female scoring elements. The photographic positive image of each female scoring element comprises a pair of lines 42a and b, 43a and b, etc., spaced an equal distance on each side of the line of desired creasing in the paperboard stock to be out and creased. The distance between these line images of the female creasing die element is related to the thickness of the paperboard stock to be cut and scored by the finished die. Preferably this distance is between 2.0 and 4.0 times the paperboard stock thickness, 2.5 to 3.5 times such thickness being optimum. The line images are placed by photomechanically stepping the light slit onehalf the desired distance in one direction away from the previously set position used in making the male scoring element image 42, 43, etc., in order to form image 42a, 43a, etc., and then stepping the light slit an equal distance on the other side of the position set for the male elements to form image 42h, 4311, etc., thus giving twin slit images, one on either side of the male die element image position and equidistant from it. The width of the female creasing element image lines is not critical,-as was the male width, but they should be wide enough to give substantial strength to the final female creasing die element. I prefer that they be at least as wide as the image of the male creasing element image and may be of any desirable greater width consistent with the limitations of available space on the plate.

The photo images of the cutting members 51a, 52a, 53a, etc. which form a part of the female plate are photocomposed as described in the male plate image preparation, except that they lie adjacent to, but on the opposite side of the respective desired cut line positions from the cut line member images of the male plate positive. They, too, may, if desired, overlie the desired cut line position by a few thousandths of an inch.

Thus, when the male and female positives are superimposed in register, the male score line images are centered between the pairs of line images of the female scoring elements, and the cutting member images, in pairs, of which one member is part of the female positive and the other part of the male positive, will lie immediately adjacent to the desired cut line positions, one member being on the male positive and lying substantially entirely on one side of the cut line position and the other pair member being'on the female positive and lying substantially entirely on the opposite fside of the cut line position. Only `a slight overlap of these two images is desirable or permissible, as will be explained in detail hereinafter.

The resulting, completely photocomposed photographic images of the male and female cutting and scoring elements are separately photographically transferred through the medium of suitable negatives, to separate sheets of av suitable etchable metal bear-ing a coating of a photosensitive resist. The exposed metal sheets are then developed graphically imposed register marks.

and fixed in conventionalfrnanner and the resulting sheets,

bearing a protective resist coating only in those areas corresponding to the cutting and scoring elements, Vare etched in a suitable etchant bath to a depth ranging from 0.005 to 0.035 inch depending on the stock to be-,cut and creased. The finished male and female die sheets will then bear the cutting and scoring elements in very shallow relief on the thin, flexible metallic plates.

1f the basic material constituting the`die plate` is a photopolymerizable plastic 'such as nylon or a polyethylene glycol divinyl estercomposition, for example, the photo composed image of the cutting and scoring elements is transferred through the medium of' suitable negatives directly onto the surface of the photosensitive plastic sheet which is then developed and hardened by conventionalprocesses for treating the particular photopolymerizable plastic mater-iai utilized.

As represented in FlGURES 5.a and 5b, which show concomitant sections of finished male and female plates, respectively, the male die plate, designated generally by the numberltllm has integral raised portions constituting male scoring elements 161, 152 and 142 and cutting members Z151, 193, 194, 152, 171, 176, 185 and 136 in I shallow relief above the etched background 102m. Platen 101m also bears registration apertures 103m mechanically drilled in the plate at points corresponding to previously photographically imposed register marks. Similarly, the femaledie plate U bears paired female scoring elements 161e and 161b, 16261 and 162i), and 141211 and 142k as well as cutting members M, 193er, 194m 1520, 171a,

176er, 185er and 136e and register apertures 1031, drilled in fthe plate at points corresponding to previously photo- Upon inversion of the female plate-1017t into superposition on male plate 101m with respectivey paired apertures 103m and 103] (and similar pairs of register apertures in other sections of the plates) in register, the male and female scoring elements and the respective pairs of cutting members will vbe positioned for cutting and scoring operations in conjunction with each other.

In' assembling the die in a press preparatory to its use in cutting and scoring of, for example, carton blanks of paperboard, one of the pair of complementarydie plates is placed in properaposition on the bed plate or base cylinder of the press andsecured there by a suitable adhesive,l or by clamps or other conventional means, and the complementary die plate brought into register on top of the first plate. A suitable adhesive is then applied either to the exposed back face of the overlying die plate or to the back-up or opposing press member, or both, and the pressis then placedon impression, whereby the second die plate becomes adhesivelysecur'e'd tothe back-up or opposing press member, which may be either a liat'plate or a rotating cylinder. The die plate transfer, being made under theV dynamic operating conditions of the press, results in a very rapid make-ready with the two die plates in perfect register.V FIGURE 6 shows the make-ready on the press in process of transfer of the die plate to the back-up cylinder, and FIGURE 7` shows the action of the cutting and scoring velements on a piece of paperboard 130 placed therebetween.

In pract-ice, I have found that a double-sided pressure sensitive cellophane tape applied to the back side of the overlying die plate serves as a very satisfactory medium foreifecting the transfer and adhesion of this' plateV to the k(55 backup or opposing press member. This in-registerdie transfer process is equally applicable to presses having a Y flat back-up plate ora rotating back-uprcylinder, since the alias-ie back-up cylinder of a press even when operating' at high rotational speeds. `Of course, if the plate isto be adhered f to a fiat press member, it need not'be so thin as to be a position of perectregSteWith concomitant elements.V

This has, for the tir-st time, made possible the preparation of cutting and scoring dies inl which the dimensions and spacial relationships of the various cutting and scoring elements maybe precisely tailored toobtain the optimum efficiency in cutting and scoring operations for .the particular type and caliper of paperboard stock to be formed into carton blanks. Furthermore, since the die elements are photographically composed, any number of die plates may be produced which 'are absolutely identical. This perfect reproducibility of the die plates consti-tutes a very important advantage of my invention. p

1 have found that the height of the'male scoring element, the width of the male scoring element, the width of the groove in the female scoring element and the depth of the female groove are all vfactors which influence the quality of a score which is formed in a paperboard'sheet. These factors are also related to the particular type and caliper of Vthe paperboard being processed. Y

To obtain-satisfactory score lines in paperboard, the height, h, in FGURE 8, ofthe male scoring elementll should'range from about 0.005 inch to 0.0355 `inchabove the die plate background, depending on the caliper of the The width, w, in FIGURE 8, of the malescoring ele-v ment 161 may range from about 0.5 to 21.0 times 'the paper'- board' thickness whilethe optimum Width has `been'found to be from about 0.8"toA 1.2 Itimes the paperboardthickness,vand satisfactory results have been obtained wherithe width,k,of the groove between the paired ,raised portions 1610! and 16111 of the female scoring elementranges from about' 2.0 to about 4.0 times [the thickness ofthe paperboardbeing processed, 2.5 to 31.5 times such thickness v being optimum. This groove Width corresponds tothe width, w, of the male scoring element 1561 plus 1.5 to 2.5 times the paperboard stock thickness. The depth d of the groove between the raised portions 16161 and 161b may suitably range between about 0.5 and 1*.5 times the paperboard stock thickness or even slightly deeper, although greater depth presents no addi-tional advantage. The female groove depth should preferably be at least substantially equivalent to the height, h, ofthe male scoring element 161.

The vertical gap, v, between theV plates (that is, the vertical vdistance between the raised portion ofthe male die plate and the raised portion of the'female die plate when the press is on impression) exerts considerable influence on the operation of the cutting elements. A further, closely related factor is the horizontal gap, g, or lateral distance between the co-acting cutting edges 181 and 182 ofthe pair of cutting members, 171 and 171e, one of which is integral with the male die plate and the other integral with the female die plate.

I have found that in order to obtain satisfactorily clean and accurate cut lines in paperboard stock using the cutting ,dies of my invention, it is necessary that the horizontal gap, g, between the cutting edges 181 and 182 of the cutting members be no greater than about 20% of the paperboard stock thickness and quitesatisfactory cut lines may be obtained if Vthe cutting members overlap to a small degree, which should not normally exceed about 50% of the paperboard stock thickness. That is, when paperboard of 0.010 inch thickness is to be cut and scored, the horizontal gap, g, between the cutting members, when in operating position in the press, should fall in the range between 0.005 inch (indicating a combined overlap of the cutting members of 0.005 inch) and +0.002 inch. For cutting paperboard of 0.016 inch caliper, the horizontal gap should be between 0.008 and +0.003 inch. The desired gap range for cutting 0.025 caliper paperboard will be between 0.012 and +0.005 inch, and a corresponding relationship will be found for paperboard of other thicknesses.

The vertical gap, v, between the male and female die plates when the press is on impression may range from a slight overlap which results in true shear cutting to a positive gap of up to about 50% of the thickness of the paperboard stock being cut. It is, of course, impossible to operate under the special condition wherein the cutting elements overlap both horizontally and vertically so that both g and v have negative values.

The preferred combination of horizontal and vertical relationships vbetween cutting members for producing a clean cut in paperboard of a variety of thicknesses combines a vertical gap of 0.003 to 0.005 inch with a horizontal overlap of 0.002 to 0.004 inch. That is, when the press is on impression, the vertical distance between the cutting members of the die is between 0.003 and 0.005 inch and the cutting members overlap horizontally by 0.002 to 0.004 inch, each cutting edge overlapping the actual desired line of cut by 0.001 to 0.002 inch.

The die plates of the present invention are effective in thecutting and scoring both of uncoated paperboard and of paperboard coated with a variety of protective and decorative coatings, including lacquers, varnishes, polymeric materials such as the polyolens and various polymerized vinyl compounds and the like.

The precise control of the dimensions of the various 'elements of the die plates and of the horizontal and ver- .tical distance relationships between these elements which is attained through the practice of this invention has made possible the achievement of a unique and highly useful cutting technique applicable to a variety of coated sheet materials, including polymer coated paperboard. Under carefully controlled conditions within the ranges previously set forth, it is possible to sever, through the use of this invention, the paperboard base layer of a polymer coated paperboard sheet without disturbing the continuity of the coating layers. This phenomenon was hitherto considered impossible of achievement.

As an example of the unique cutting effect achieved through this invention, a sheet of point paperboard (0.015 inch in thickness) coated on each side with polyethylene of 0.002 inch thickness was subjected to the cutting action of a set of cutting die plates produced according to previously described procedures. The vertical gap, v, between the cutting elements was adjusted to 0.005 inch, or 26% of the over-all thickness of the coated board. The horizontal gap, g, was 0.002 inch, indicating an overlap of two thousandths of an inch, or 10.5% of the over-all coated board thickness. By the action of the cutting elements, a cut line was imposed in the paperboard sheet, but the polyethylene coating on each side ofthe sheet was unaffected by the cutting action of the die and the polyethylene lm continuity was unbroken. The result, then, was a paperboard sheet bearing a cut line wherein the board was completely severed, while the polyethylene coating on each side of the sheet was continuous and unbroken, even in the area covering the line of cut in the paperboard sheet buried between the polyethylene layers. The pinch-cutting was achieved without distortion of the original surface contours of the coated board. That is, the main plane of the coated paperboard remained substantially unaltered by the pinch cut. This procedure presents a substantial contribution to the packaging art, since it allows the impression of cut lines or lines of weakness in a package wall for ease of opening without impairing the water, vapor, gas and greaseproofness of the package imparted by the coating. The advantage in being able to impress such weakness lines in the package wall after the coating operation will be obvious to those skilled in the packaging art.

The phenomenon of cutting the interior base layer of a coated paperboard without severing the exterior coating layers and while maintaining substantially unaltered the Original surface contours of the coated sheet is dependent not only on the precise adjustment of the spacial relationships between the cutting elements as achieved by the present invention but also on the strength and resilience characteristics and the thickness of the coating and on the impact rupture resistance and thickness of the basic paperboard layer. In order to sever the inner layer without forming an incision in the outer coating layer, the cutting action must, rst of all, be of a pinch-cut type rather than a shear-cut or a blade-incision type of cut. The coating must have sufficient toughness and resilience to absorb'the pinching impact force applied to the composite sheet and transfer the impact force to the inner paperboard. layer. This layer, having a lower impact rupture resistance and therefore being more fractile than the coating, is then severed by the pinch-cutting force exerted by the dies, while the outer coating layers retain their continuity. The expression pinch-cutting force in the claims is intended to refer to this type of force -as applied to a polymer-coated sheet material.

Among the coating materials having the desired properties of strength, resilience and toughness are the polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene, polyesters, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidine chloride and copolymers of vinylidine chloride and acrylonitrile. Coatings of polyethylene are particularly satisfactory. Coatings of less than about 1 mil (0.001 inch) in thickness are generally not satisfactory for this purpose since they tend to rupture under the pinching pressure of the die elements, due to insufficient cushioning ability to absorb the applied force, and the coating continuity is thereby lost. Coatings ranging from about 1 mil in thickness to upward of 4 mils have proven quite satisfactory, although coating thicknesses in excess of about 4 mils are relatively expensive and therefore in less general use than coatings in the 1 to 4 mil range, which are therefore preferred.

In general, the thicker coatings, due to their greater cushioning capacity, give greater latitude or a broader range of spacial relationships between the cutting die elements within which the particular pinch-cutting phenomenon hereinbefore described may be achieved. For example, the pinch cut, in which the inner paperboard layer is severed but the outer coating remains unruptured, may be obtained on paperboard of from about 0.013 to 0.016 in, thickness coated on each side with from 2 to 4 mils of polyethylene with various combinations of the die cutting elements previously described in which the horizontal gap may vary between +0.002 in. and 0.008 in. and the vertical gap may range from 0.003 in. and 0.007 in. Similar paperboard coated on each side with 1 mil of polyethylene can be pinch cut to leave the coating unruptured only within the narrow range of die conditions wherein the vertical gap may range between about 0.003 and 0.005 in. and the horizontal gap may range from about +0.002 to 0.006 in. If the horizontal and vertical gaps are reduced beyond the lower limits stated, the coating layers will be severed as well as the inner ness `ticular ratio of paperboard thicknessfranging from about vertical gap, v, (as showniin FIGURE 8) between the `cutting elementsofthe die lies within theV range from about 14% to about 35% -of vthe over-,all thickness of .the coated sheet mateerial and the corresponding'horizontal gap, g, varies between a gap of about 12% and an overlap of about 35% of the over-all coatedsheet thick- Optimum conditions within these limits for'a par- 0.0l2 in. to about 0.030 in. to coating thickness preferably in the range from 0.001 in. to about 0.004 in. may be determined by experimentation, bearing in mind that the limits for the pinch-cutting of sheets having relatively thin coatings are somewhat more critical than for the relatively heavier coated sheets.

The pinch cutting operationis not limited to use on coated paperboard. By use of the present invention, the pinch-cutting technique may be extended to include the cutting of the inner layer of a large number of laminated structures without severing the outer layers or altering the original surface contours of the coated sheet, if the outer layers are composed of a resilient and somewhat elastic material having high impact rupture resistance while the inner layer is of a material having a relatively W' elasticity, resilience and impact rupture resistance. Leather, fabrics or relatively brittleV metals coated with tough, resilient and elastic coatings of rubber',`polyethyl ene, polyvinylchloride or the like may be pinch-cut by the process `of the invention Without destroying the continuity of the coating layers. The pinch-cut operation may also be utilized to sever the paperboard sheet lmaterial layer of a one-side coated sheet without disrupting the continuity of the coating layer. Furthermore, the same technique may be utilized to sever the outside paperboard layers of a laminated sheet Vconstruction in which a resilient polymer such as polyethylene is sandwiched between two layers of paperboard.. By proper application of the pinch-cut principle, the outer layers of the kfrangible sheet material may be severed without disrupting the continuity of the inner, resilient polymer layer.

The combined cutting and scoring die plates of my invention may be of varying thickness depending on the particular type of press on which they are to be utilized and on the caliper and character of the paperboard stock which is to be cut and scored.

The minimum practical thickness of the die plates is about 0.005 in. greater than the height of the scoring and cutting elements above the etched background. Thus, for use in cutting and creasing of 0.010 in. thick paperboard, the over-all die plate thickness may be as little as about 0.013 inch. For cutting and scoring of 0.017 in. thick paperboard, the over-all die plate thickness may range upward from about 0,020 in. and plate thicknesses above Vabout 0.026 in. are satisfactory for preparation of dies for cutting and lscoring of 0.026 in.,thick paperboard lassuming in each case an etch depthpof about 0.8 times the thickness of the paperboards being processed. Similar relationships exist for paperboard of other thicknesses.

s to

ing of the die plates is .obtained under the dynamic oper- I ating conditions ofthe press. This is of particular value It will be noted that the cutting and scoring dies maybe i very much thinner and consequently more flexible than conventional cutting and scoring dies made from an assembly vof individual rules and furniture blocks, a maximum plate thickness of 0.04 in. being ample to provide Vcutting and scoring elements of optimum dimensions for vmembers is al rotating cylinder.

in presses .in whichl at least one of the main operating Dier plates which are to rest on flat surfaces may be of greater thickness, since flexibility is not a factor in these cases and it may, onv

4it is` often convenient to utilize one die plate of minimum or near-minimum thickness on the cylinder and a somewhat thicker matching dieV plate on the Vflat bed, where ilexibility is not a factor. K 1

Various modifications Vof the invention may be made and the several embodiments thereof are considered within the spirit of the invention and dies may be constructed which embody eitherV cutting orscoring elements, singly, ratherVv than in combination as previously described. For example, scoring dies consisting of concomitant male and female die plates may be'prep-ared according to the process of the invention hereinbefore described. One of the pair of plates, for example, the male plate, may be of Vsuitable thickness so that on assembly with conventional furniture and cutting rules, the raised portions of the shallow-etched plate are at proper operating level with the conventional units. Alternatively, as illustrated in cross-section inFIGURE 9, the male scoring die plate may be a thin, shallov/ly etched plate 201 which is suitably increased in thickness by being adhesively secured to a base of suitablethickness of Wood, metal, plastic or vother material as indicated by number 202 and thereafter assembled, together with conventional cutting knives 203 and furnitureV blocks 204, in a standard chase or frame to yield a composite male cutting and scoring die in which the cutting elements are conventional individual cutting nrules 203 frictionally held between conventional furniture blocks 204 and the male'scoring elements 205 are the raised portions integral with the etched metal plate 201 prepared as hereinbefore described. In the press makeready, the composite male cutting and scoring die is secured on the bed plate 210, the female scoring die plate 21.1 is superimposed in registeren the male scoring plate 201, double sided adhesive tape is placed on the exposed lfemale back surface, and the press placed on impression,

etched portion of the female scoring die 211 or against the cylinder jacket itself.

in another modication of the invention, illustrated in cross section in FIGURE 10, the etched male scoringdie plate 220 prepared as hereinbefore described may bear, in

vaddition to the raised male scoring elements 221 prepared las hereinbefore described, machine routed grooves 222 of a width and depth and in proper spaced relationship to accept individual cutting rules 223 which may be inserted in the routed grooves and aixed in desired cutting position by 'filling the groove surrounding the cutting rule 223 with a self-hardening plastic 224 or a molten metal whichsets Von cooling. Alternatively, the cutting rules 223 may be of a width to nt snugly in a machine routed groove 225 and to be therein retained by friction With the sides of the groove or by peening the plate metal into tight frictional engagement with the cutting rule. i The coacting female die plate 230 in this modification would contain only the female scoring elements 231, cut-lines being made by the conventional individual cutting rules 223 acting against etched areas of the female die plate or on the press cylinder jacket itself. Y

The principles of the invention may be utilized to prepare dies which incorporate means for cut-scoring and perforating as well as conventional cutting and scoring as hereinbefore described. In a further modication of my invention, embossing may similarly be accomplished, simultaneously with cutting and scoring.

In preparing a die suitable for embossing, as Well as cutting and scoring a male positive of the photo-composed male scoring elements and cutting members is prepared as illustrated in FIGURES 1 through 4 and previously described. A photo-image of the male embossing elements of any desired embossing design is then imposed on the male positive bearing the scoring element and cutting member images. The resulting composite positive, bear- `ing male scoring element images, embossing element images and cutting member images, is then transferred, through the medium of a suitable negative, to a photo sensitized etchable die plate which is subsequently developed and etched as previously described. The finished male embossing, cutting and scoring die plate will contain the male elements necessary for each of these operations, all of these elements being in very shallow relief on the plate. As shown in cross-section in FIGURE 11, the male die 240 contains male scoring elements 241, cutting element 242 and embossing element 243.

The female die plate 250, as shown in cross-Section in FIGURE 11, is prepared in the manner previously described for cutting and scoring die plates. The resulting female plate will have female scoring elements 251 and cutting member 252 in shallow relief above the etched plate background. To the etched background of the female plate, in those areas corresponding to the embossing elements 243 on the male die plate 240, a thin sheet of cork 253 or similarly resilient material is attached, suitably by double-sided adhesive tape. Alternatively, the female plate background may be cut away in this area, and the resilient material attached directly to the base cylinder of the press itself. The thickness of vthe cork should be suiiicient to bring its exposed surface substantially level with the upper surface of the cutting and scor- V ing elements.

In operation on the press, the cutting and scoring elements function in the manner previously described and the male embossing element 243, operating in conjunction with the resilient insert 253 in the female die plate 250, impresses the desired embossed design on the paperboard stock.

Various other modifications of the die-forming process herein described will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, and it is not intended that the scope of the invention be limited except as necessitated by the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A method for making a cutting and scoring die having co-acting male and female die plates, which comprises photomechanically imposing in register on respective photosensitized plates plan images of the concomitant male and female scoring elements and co-aeting members of paired cutting elements and chemically removing material from the respective plates except in the regions bearing photomechanically imposed images to leave male and female die plates having scoring and cutting elements as integral portions thereof in shallow relief above the plate background areas of said plates.

2. A method for making a scoring die having co-acting male die plate and female die plate, which comprises photomechanically imposing `in register the plan image of a male scoring element on -a photosensitized plate and the plan image of a concomitant female scoring element of a second photosensitized plate and removing by chemical means material from said plates except in the regions bearing photomechanically imposed images to produce a male scoring die plate and a female scoring die plate having the scoring elements thereof as integral portions in shallow relief above the plate background 'areas of said plates.

3. A method for making a cutting and scoring die havtosensitive coating images of the male and female scoring elements and co-acting members of paired cutting elements, developing and lixing the respective plates to remove the photosensitive coating from the plates except 1n the regions bearing such images and chemically etching the background Iareas of the respective plates except in the regions bearing said images to a depth of from 0.005 to 0.035 inch to yleave co-acting thin, iexible metallic die plates bearing scoring and cutting elements as an integral portion thereof in a relief of from .005 to .035 inch above the etched plate background.

4. A method for making an improved scoring die having co-acting male and female scoring elements for impressing a score line in a paperboard sheet, which comprises photomechanically imposing on a first photosensitive plate a photographic image of a male scoring element, said image being centered on the proposed score line in said paperboard sheet and of a width between 0.8 and 1.5 times the thickness of the paperboard stock to be scored, photomechanically imposing on a second photosensitive plate a photographic image of a female scoring element corresponding to and in register with said male scoring element image on said first plate, said female image comprising a pair of lines having a width at least substantially equal to `the width of said male scoring element image and spaced apart by a distance equal to between 2.5 to 3.5 times the thickness of the paperboard stock, and chemically removing material from the background areas of said plates except in the regions bearing photomechanically imposed images to a depth equal to between 0.5 .and 1.1 times the thickness of the paperboard stock.

5. A method for making an improved cutting and scoring die having male and female scoring elements and paired cutting members for cutting and scoring of paperboard sheets, which comprises photomechanically imposing on the surface of a first photosensitized coated etchable metal plate a photographic image of a male scoring element for impressing a score line in a paperboard sheet and the tirst of a pair of concomitant cutting members for producing a cut line in said paperboard, said male scoring element image being centered on the proposed score line to be formed in the paperboard sheet and of a width between about 0.8 and 1.5 times the thickness of .the paperboard sheet, said rst cutting member image having an edge positioned immediately adjacent to the desired position of said cut line to be formed in said paperboard sheet; photomechanically imposing on the surface of a second photosensitized coated etchable metal platte a photographic image of a female scoring element corresponding to and in register with said male scoring element image on said first plate and a photographic image of the other of said pair of concomitant cutting members, said latter cutting member image having an edge lying immediately adjacent to but on the opposite side of the desired position of said cut line from said first cutting member image, said female scoring element image comprising a pair of lines having a width at least substantially equal to the width of said male scoring element image and spaced apart by a distance equal to between about 2.5 and 3.5 times the thickness of the paperboard sheet; developing and ixing said coated plates to remove the photosensitive coating from all plate areas except lthose bearing a photomechanically imposed image; and chemically etching said plates except in such image bearing areas to a depth between about 0.5 and 1.1 times the thickness of said paperboard sheet.

6. A method according to claim 5 wherein at least one of said metal plates has an overall plate thickness of less than 0.04 inch.

7. A .method for-making a cutting and scoring die comprising separate male and female die plates which co- `act to form a cut line and a score line in paperboard stock, which comprises photographically Aimposing `plan apair of cutting members on the photosensitized coating covering arst etchable metal plate, said male scoring images o f a male scoring element and the first member of element image consisting of a line equal in length and conforming in contour to Vthe desiredY score line and having a width equal to between 0.8 and 2.0 times the thickness of the paperboard in which a score line is to be formed', said irst cutting member image consisting of a line equal in length and conformingin contour to the desired cut line and positioned in immediate juxtaposition Vto the desired position of said cut line and having a width at least -equal to said male score line image, photographically imposing plan images of a female scoring element ,for Y said second cutting member image consisting of a iline subv stantially equal in length to said first cutting member irri-- age and having a Width at least equal to said male scoreV line image and said second cutting member image being positioned in immediate juxtaposition to the desired position `of said cut line but on the opposite side thereof from said first lcutting member image, developing and xing said metal plates thereby removing said'photosensitive coating from all areas of rthe plates except ,those areas bearing photographically imposed images and chemically etching said plate areas from which said coating has been removed to a depth of from 0.005 to 0.035 inch toV form concomitant male and female metallic cutting and scoring die plates, said male die pilates having a male scoring element consisting of an integral raised portion of awidrth between 0.8 and 2.0 times the thickness of the paperboard stock in which a score line is to be formed, said male die plate also having a rst cutting member consisting of an integral raised portion having a cutting edge positioned immediately adjacent to the desired cut line position and a width at least equal to that of Said male scoring element, said female die plate having a female a score line is to be formed, said female die plate also having a second cutting member consisting of an integral,

raised portion of a width at least `equal vto thatof said male scoring element and having a cutting edge positioned'immediately adjacentto the desired cut line position but on the opposite side thereof from the cutting edge of said iirst cutting member, said lraised portions being in relief above therespective etched areas of said plates by an amount between 0.005 Iand 0.035 inch..

8. A method for making a cutting andscoring die having concomitant male and female die plates, which comprises photographically imposing in proper spaced relationship on the photosensitized coated surface of a rst, thin, etchable metal plate the direct, vertical plan images of a male scoring element and the first member of a pair of cutting members, photographically registering in proper spaced relationship on the photosensitized coated surface of a second thin, etchable metal plate the direct vertical plan images of a female scoringelernent for operation in conjunction with said male scoring element and the second member of said pair of cutting members-developing and fixing said coated plates to remove the photosensitive "coating from all plate areas except those bearing a photoing a cuttingiedge constituting one member of a pair of v members which together form a cuttingl element, said female die plate having integral, paired, raised portions spaced apart -to form a groove therebetween constituting a female scoring element concomitant with said male scoring element and an integral raised portion having a cutting edge constituting the second member of apair of members Which co-act `to form a cutting element, said raised areas extending in relief above the etched plate areas by an amount between 0.005 inch and 0.035 inch.

9. A method for making a scoring die comprising separate male and female plates which co-act to impress at least one score line in paperboard stock, which comprises photographically imposing the direct vertical plan image Vof at least one male scoring element on the photosensitized coating covering a first thin, etchable metal plate, said image consisting of a line of a length equal to the desired length of score line and a Width equal to between 0.75 and 2.0,times the thickness of the paperboard in which a score line is to be impressed; photographically imposing the direct vertical plan image of a female scoring element for operation in conjunction with said male scoringV element on the photosensitized coating covering a second thin, etchable metal plate, said female scoring element image consisting of a pair of lines of a length substantially'equal to that of said male element image and a Width at least substantially equal to that of said male element image,

, said pair oflines being separated from one another lby an amount equal to between about 2.0 and 4.0 times the thickness of the paperboard in which a score line is to be impressed, developing and fixing said metal plates thereby removing unexposed photosensitive coating from said plates and-chemically etching all plate areas fromwhich ysaid coating has been removed to a depth equal to about 0.8 times the thickness, of the paperboard stock to be scored to form concomitant male and female metallic scoring die plates, said male die plae having a male scoring element consisting of an integral raised portion of a width between 0.5 and 2.0 times the thickness of the paperboard stock in which a score line is to be impressed, said female die plate having a female scoring element suitable for operation in conjunction with said male scoring element, consistingof integral, paired, raised portions spaced apart by an amount equal to between about 2.0

and 4.0 times the thickness of the paperboard in which a Y score line is to be impressed, said raised portions being in relief above the respective'etched plate areas by an amount f equal to about 0.8 times the thickness of the paperboard in which a score line isrto beimpressed.

v10. A method for making a cutting die comprising a pair of separate co-acting die plates forV producing a cut line in a paperboard sheet, which comprises photograph- V ically imposing on the photosensitized coated surface of Veach of a pairof respective separate etchable metal` plates one of the vertical plan images of a pair of cutting members, eachgof said images having an edge corresponding in length and contour to the cut line to be produced in said paperboard sheet, said cutting member images being positioned on the respective plates so that, when the plates are registered in face-to-face relationship, saidimage edges lie in opposed horizontal relationship adjacent to the position of said proposed cut line and positioned with respect to each other between a spacing of about 0.2 times 105 16 such image-bearing areas to a depth between 0.5 and 1.5 2,743,629 5/ 59 Pellegrino et al. 76--107 times the thickness of the paperboard sheet in which a 2,949,827 8/60 Kempen et al. 93-58 cut line is to be produced. 3,000,237 9/ 61 Phillips et al. 76--107 3,005,364 10/61 Broderick 76--107 References Cited by the Exammer -5 3,109,328 11 /63 Giese 76-107 UNITED STATES PATENTS GRANVILLE Y CUSTER J Px E 2,000,634 5/35-.Du Brul 93- 58 R" "may mme 2,369,960 2/45 Gage et a1. 76-107 JOHN C. CHRISTIE, Exammer- 

1. A METHOD FOR MAKING A CUTTING AND SCORING DIE HAVING CO-ACTING MALE AND FEMALE DIE PLATES, WHICH COMPRISES PHOTOMECHANICALLY IMPOSING IN REGISTER ON RESPECTIVE PHOTOSENSITIZED PLATES PLAN IMAGES OF THE CONCOMITANT MALE AND FEMALE SCORING ELEMENT AND CO-ACTING MEMBERS OF PAIRED CUTTING ELEMENTS AND CHEMICALLY REMOVING MATERIAL FROM THE RESPECTIVE PLATES EXCEPT IN THE REGIONS BEARING PHOTOMECHANICALLY IMPOSED IAMGES TO LEAVE MALE AND FEMALE DIE PLATES HAVING SCORING AND CUTTING ELEMENTS AS INTEGRAL PORTIONS THEREOF IN SHALLOW RELIEF ABOVE THE PLATE BACKGROUND AREAS OF SAID PLATES. 